Table



June 29, 1965 C. D. ZIERHUT TABLE Filed April 8, 1964 INVENTOR.

A770/P/VEV5 United States Patent 3,191,554 TABLE Clarence D. Zierhut, Granada Hilis, Calih, assignor to The 'Cal-Dak Company, Los Angeles, Calif., 21 corporation of California Filed Apr. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 358,330 4 Claims. (Cl. 108-118) employed as an individual dining table for use by a pe-rson sitting apart from others and, for example, watching television.

In the past, it has been the practice to construct an individual dining table or television tray table of a rectangular tray top and two pairs of scissors type legs. The construction of this type of table has made it diflicult to pull the tray top to a convenient position for use over a persons lap.

In accordance with the device of the present invention, the above-described and other disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by providing a table including a table top, and first and second pairs of legs therefor. The first pair of legs is positioned in a downwardly and forwardly extending plane. These first legs have upper ends adapted to support the table top at two spaced positions. The lower ends of the first legs converge towards each other. The second pair of legs are fixed to the first pair of legs at a position intermediate the ends of all four. The second pair of legs are then positioned in a plane inclined upwardly and forwardly. The second pair of legs also have upper ends. These upper ends are adapted to support the table top at a third position spaced from the upper ends of the first pair of legs; The second pair of legs diverge from each other.

In accordance with the foregoing, a wide space is provided by the inclined legs, so that the table of the present invention may be drawn up over the lap of a person.

In accordance with an outstanding feature of the present invention, a trapezoidal type table is employed. For this reason, the table top has considerable utility in carrying a meal in an especially accessible manner.

It is also a feature of the present invention that the trapezoidal table top, having three main areas, is supported in these three principal areas by the pairs of legs. The construction of the legs and the manner of their support is convenient, yet structurally strong. Further, one pair of legs are pivotally mounted on the other and the table top is also pivoted to the legs-so that both pairs of legs and the table top, all three may be collapsed to a substantially fiat compact position.

According to another feature of the present invention, all the foregoing is achieved while each leg of each pair may be integral with the other leg of each pair in a U- shaped member made of a metal tube bent to shape.

The above-described and other advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings which are to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a table constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the top of the table shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

Patented June 29, 1965 FIG. 4 is a full elevational view of a U-shaped member employed in the construction of the present invention and indicated at 4-4 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a metal tab employed between the legs of the table shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A table constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. .1, including a trapezoidal table top 11 having a U-shaped strap of metal 12 fixed to the lower surface thereof.

Strap'12 has legs 13 and 14 with flanges 15 and 16 that are held to table top 11 by screws 17 and 18, and respectively. Table 10 includes an inverted U-shaped member 19 having legs 20 and 21 connected by a base portion 22. The lower ends of legs 20 and 21 are covered by conventional rubber caps 23 and 24.

Base 22 of member 19 is sl-idable to the left in the space between strap 12 and table top 11, as shown in FIG. 1. Table 10 includes a U-shaped member 25 which has legs 26 and 27 connected by a base 28.

L-shaped brackets 29, 30, 31 and 32 are also fixed to the underside of table top 11, as shown in FIG. 2. A

rivet 33 projects through brackets 29 and 30 and the upper end of leg 26. A rivet 34 projects through brackets 31 and 32 and through the upper end of leg 27.

Members 19 and 25 are pivotally mounted about the single horizontal axis of rivets 35 and 36. Rivet 35 extends through leg 23 and a tab 37. Rivet 36 extends through leg 21 and a tab 38.

Tab 37 is fixed to leg 26 by rivets 39, tab 38 being fixed to leg 27 by rivets 49.

U-shaped member 1, is again shown in FIG. 4.

Tab 37 is shown in FIG. 5. Tab 38 is identical to tab 37. Note will be taken that tab 37 is provided with holes 41 through which rivets 39 project. Rivet 35 projects through a hole 42.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that table 10 may be pulled to the left over the lap of a person sitting to the left of table 10 as shown in FIG. 1. A wide space is provided by the inclination of the legs of members 19 and 25, .as shown in FIG. 2. The shape of table top 11, as shown in FIG. 3, makes it easier to carry a complete meal. The meal may also be arranged so that it is easily accessible to a person sitting to the left of table top 11, shown in both FIGS. 1 and 3.

Note will be taken that the upper ends of table legs 26 and 27 support top 11 at spaced positions toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 3. The upper ends of legs 20 and 21 support top 11 centrally thereof to the right, as shown in FIG. 3. This support is structurally strong, yet outof-th-e-way, compact and inexpensive In accordance with the present invention, the use of tabs 37 and 38 provide for a stable table 10 which is nevertheless collapsible to a flat position when member 19 is rotated to the left in a position approximately parallel to member 25, and top 11 is rotated to the right about the single axis of rivets 33 and 34.

The inclined yet integral construction of the legs of members 19 and 25 make them economical to manufacture. Further, if desired, members 19 and 25 may be identical, exclusive of rubber caps 23 and 25.

Although only one specific embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated herein, many changes and modifications will, of course, suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. This single embodiment has been selected for this disclosure for the purpose of illustration only. The present invention should therefore not be limited to the embodiment so selected, the true scope of the invention being defined only in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A table comprising: a table top; a first pair of legs positioned in a downwardly and forwardly inclined plane, said first pair of legs having upper ends adapted to support said table top at two spaced positions, and lower ends converging toward each other along their entire lengths; and a second pair of legs fixed, respectively, to said first pair of legs at a position intermediate the ends of. both pairs of said legs, said second pair of legs being positioned in a plane inclined upwardly and forwardly, said second pair of legs also having upper ends adapted to support said table top at least at a third position spaced from the upperends of said first pair of legs, said second pair of legs having lower ends diverging along their entire lengths.

2. A table comprising: a table top; an inverted Ushaped member having diverging legs and being made of an integral piece of .metal bent to shape; and an upright U-shaped member being made of an integral piece of metal bent to shape, said legs diverging .along their entire lengths, said upright member being positioned in a downwardly and forwardly inclined plane, the legs of said upright member having upper ends adapted to support said table top at two spaced positions, the legs of said upright member having lower ends converging towards eachother, the legs of said inverted member being fixed, respectively, to those of said upright member at a position intermediate the ends of all four of said legs, said inverted member being positioned in a plane inclined upwardly and forwardly, the legs of said inverted member having upper ends adapted to support said table top at least at a third position spaced from the upper ends of the legs of said upright member, said inverted member having legs diverging along their entire lengths.

3. A collapsible table comprising: a table top; a first pair of legs positioned in a downwardly and forwardly inclined plane, said first pair of legs having upper ends adapted to support said table top at two spaced positions, and lower ends converging toward each other along their entire lengths; a second pair of legs, said second pair of legs being positioned in a plane inclined upwardly and forwardly, said second pair of legs also having upper ends adapted to supportsaid table top at least at a third position spaced from the upper ends of said first pair of legs, said second pair of legs diverging along their entire lengths; and means pivotally mounting one of said pairs of legs, respectively, on the other pair thereof.

4. A table comprising: a table top; a U-shaped member having upwardly diverging legs to slope rearwardly, said legs diverging along their entire lengths, the ends of said legs being pivoted from a rearward portion of the table top; an inverted U-shaped member having a bight portion movable from a collapsed position to a forward portion of the table top, said inverted U-shaped member having legs diverging along their entire lengths; a tab having a vertical portion adjacent each contiguous pair of legs; and means pivoting said U-shaped member legs to said inverted 'U-shaped member legs through said tabs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 606,345 7/98 Simmons l08120 2,215,131 9/40 Page 108l20 2,288,737 7/42 Page 108--120 2,666,682 1/54 McCormick 10812O 3,031,243 4/.62 Crevoi 10812O FOREIGN PATENTS 1,188,189 9/60 France.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TABLE COMPRISING; A TABLE TOP; A FIRST PAIR OF LEGS POSITIONED IN A DOWNARDLY AND FORWARDLY INCLINED PLANE, SAID FIRST PAIR OF LEGS HAVING UPPER ENDS ADAPTED TO SUPPORT SAID TABLE TOP AT TWO SPACED POSITIONS, AND LOWER ENDS CONVERGING TOWARD EACH OTHER ALONG THEIR ENTIRE LENGTHS; AND A SECOND PAIR OF LEGS FIXED, RESPECTIVELY, TO SAID FIRST PAIR OF LEGS AT A POSITION INTERMEDITATE THE ENDS OF BOTH PAIRS OF SAID LEGS, SAID SECOND PAIR OF LEGS BEING POSI- 